We’ve done it with yeast. It’s exciting. And there’s nothing quite like it. But yeast free pita? It’s done so quick, it’s even a fabulous go-to for a quick weeknight meal.

What?

Yes. A weeknight pita. Check it.

So this is the real deal. And you can make it happen! Totally.

Except you’re gonna need a legitall-purpose gluten-free flour. I’m not gonna tell you that you have to get Better Batter. But you have to get something that is the real deal. Or it won’t work. If you toss together a few different gluten-free flours, powder everywhere, wearing a silly grin — it’s not gonna work. And it’ll cost you some coin, with no payoff. You’ll be all sad and pitiable. Feeling sorry for yourself. All mad at me and stuff. Not a good scene. Fact.

I may be an optimist, but I’m nobody’s fool.

Okay, sometimes I’m a fool for you, but you know what I mean, right?

So. Got your ace-in-the-hole flour? It’s go time. You’ll need…

Then here’s what you’re gonna do. Remember to match your visual to mine, step by step by step.

I’m all about the step by steps now. Totally steppin’. And trippin’. Check it.

Remember Step By Step French Bread? I was all, “the secret’s in not adding too much water.” Blah blah blah. This time, more water! This time, we’re all wet, and the dough’s kinda slimy. Ride it out, sister.

But still, start with less water in the mixer, then lather it up in the final prep. You make the dough, divide it into 6 parts, then dip your hands in water. Now place the dough on a piece of parchment paper, and then rub each piece in a circular motion with super wet fingers so it spreads and smooths to about 1/2 inch thick. It’s not kinky! Okay, fine. It is. A little. But mostly, it’s serious. And it’s easy! Then put it in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 10 minutes, and watch it puff. Then it’s on to cooling for a few on your kitchen counter. Next, slice the round in half, straight down the middle. Since this is not yeast bread, as much as it puffs, it won’t pop like traditional pita. But then there’s no stress! No hand-wringing. Good times.

All you do is coax open the pocket with a sharp knife, and you’re in business. Look! Now I may kid, but I’ll never lie. So get to work!

Quickbread Pita Bread

Recipe Type: Bread

Author: Nicole @ Gluten-Free on a Shoestring.com

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 6

Gluten-free Yeast-free Quickbread Pita

Ingredients

2 cups (280g) high-quality all-purpose gluten-free flour

1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon (14g) vegetable oil

1 extra-large egg + 1 extra-large egg white

1/4 cup warm milk (can be replaced with 1/4 cup warm water)

1/2 to 3/4 cup warm water

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven while the oven preheats. If not, use an overturned rimmed baking sheet.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or the bowl of your food processor), place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt. Mix (or pulse) to combine. This is an important step, because if the baking powder clumps at all, parts of your dough will puff too much and others, not at all.

To the dry ingredients, add the oil and then the eggs and 1/4 cup warm milk (or first 1/4 cup warm water). Mix or pulse to combine. Then, with the mixer on its lowest speed (or the food processor on), add 1/2 cup warm water in a slow and steady stream. The dough will be wet. Mix until the dough is fluffy (see the picture). Only parts of the dough will being to pull away from the sides of the bowl, but it will not clump. If it doesn’t seem quite wet enough, add up to another 1/4 cup water, by the tablespoon. Touch it. Does it seem slimy, but still holding together? Good. Moving on…

Scrape the dough out of the bowl, and place it on a wet, smooth surface (like a wet silpat or wet pastry board – a wet smooth countertop will do, too). Divide the dough into 6 equal parts. Wet your hands well, and form one piece of dough into a ball as best as you can. Place the dough on a sheet of parchment paper, and, with very wet fingertips moving in a circular motion and some pressure, smooth the dough into a round about 1/2 inch thick (see picture above). Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, placed about 1/2 inch apart on the parchment paper.

Place the dough, on the parchment paper, in the oven atop the hot pizza stone (or the overturned rimmed baking sheet). Bake for 5 minutes, and carefully flip the pitas. Bake for another 5 to 7 minutes, or until lightly brown on both sides.

Remove the pitas from the oven, and allow to cool for 3 to 5 minutes, or until they can be handled. Slice each round in half through the center. With a very sharp knife, gently coax open the center of each pita half (see the picture above).

Serve warm or at room temperature. Once cooled, the pitas will keep for 2 days in a plastic ziploc bag on the counter.

Notes

This recipe can be easily doubled. Be sure to use a true all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. Bean flour blends do not count. Pamela’s baking mix and bread mix are not meant to be all-purpose flours. They are baking mixes, and will not work in this recipe.

2.2.1

Pita always puts me in a Middle Eastern street food kinda mood, so we had falafel in pita last night, with a lemon-sour cream-parsley dressing. What about you? What do you put in your pita?

I must make these! =D Do you know if these freeze well being GF and all?

Sarah D

Mmmmm….falafel. I LOVE falafel. You MUST have a good recipe. Share? I can’t wait to make these! Our favorite is Shish Tawouk over rice, quinoa, or pita. Yum!

Nicole

Hi, Sarah, I had to look up Shish Tawouk. That sounds really lovely. I do have a great falafel recipe. It’s adapted from this one on epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/My-Favorite-Falafel-231755. Honestly, since it’s such a basic recipe, I had never thought to post my variations. But that one is a great, basic and totally authentic recipe. My kids love it, and it’s one of my favorite foods on earth. Always has been. xoxo Nicole

Sarah D

So, does that falafel recipe work with just subbing the flour with gf flour or do I have to do something more to it?

Shish Tawouk is super yummy. I just brown cubed chicken, cook up some carrot coins, onions and mushrooms with salt and pepper, make a chicken gravy with it and add spices (Turmeric and Shwarma mostly) then add thickner if you want it thicker. Ladle over rice, quinoa, or grilled pita and enjoy!

We also like to fill our pita with Kofta and Lebeney. Mmmmm….pita.

Nicole

Hi, Sarah, I actually modify a few things here and there to suit my personal tastes (and those of my family), but the one sort of major thing I do (that totally breaks all the falafel rules, but I find it makes for a really perfect texture) is to stream in a bit of olive oil toward the end, before the chickpeas are completely chopped. That way, you can still get a creaminess without having to fully puree the chickpeas. Other than that, I tweak it quite a bit, but it is great as is. Enjoy! xoxo Nicole

Sarah D

Ooo! Or Tahini Chicken. Wow, too many choices for this pita…..we could even go non-traditional and fill with tomato sauce, cheese and pepperoni. What to choose, what to choose?!

Nicole

Hi, Sarah, Pita Pizza! Wow, you really do love your pita bread. I say you don’t choose. I say you make a double batch of quickbread pitas, & line ‘em all up, then fill ‘em one by one with everything you can think of. Invite the neighbors! xoxo Nicole

http://nocastravels.blogspot.com/ Nocas

Thanks a million! The recipe is great! I just tried it and actually I’m eating one pita right now and it’s really good! It really works!

Nicole

Hi, there, So glad you were successful. You sound surprised that it worked. Of course it works! xoxo Nicole

Linda

Pitas here I come! Nikki–I made the corn muffins last weekend—best I ever made, thanks to you. The fresh sweet corn and ricotta made all the difference in texture. Moist and delicious. Sending hugs of gratitude! xoxLinda

These look fabulous! Should be perfect for school lunches. “Sad and pitiable” just sounds depressing, so I don’t want to be that. My Better Batter won’t get here until Tuesday, which is sad, so I am off to buy more of my other APGF flour. Hugs from, Sad but not Pitiable (or maybe the other way around!) in St. Paul

Nicole

Dear Sad But Not Pitiable in St. Paul, So perfect for school lunches! Why didn’t I think of that? So glad you’re here. Sadly (and pitiably), inferior GF flours make for inferior GF baking results. It’s a fact. There are others, but Better Batter makes for Best Batter. xoxo Nicole

Darlene

Thank you, Nicole!! Love, Me too

Nicole

Hi, Darlene, Thank you for making me giggle. I love a good giggle. Love, Me

Karen

Love this recipe. But how much oil? It’s not listed in the recipe.

Nicole

Hi, Karen, Thank you so much for pointing that out! It’s 1 tablespoon of oil. I have revised the recipe. Good thing for the step-by-step photos, or you wouldn’t have known to ask – and I might have missed it entirely! Please accept my apologies. xoxo Nicole

Nicely done! Pics look great and easy to follow. First, I’ll try the French Bread from yesterday. If that works out, I’ll go for the pita…I’ll have to let you all know how it goes!

http://www.gisforgluten.blogspot.com Theresa

AWESOME! Hey, for those of us outside the USA, could you tell us what kind of gluten-free blend Better Batter is? Sometimes they’re based on potato flour, sometimes on rice… what would you use if you had to mix your own alternitave? Thanks! You’re a legend, I always love reading your posts!

Sarah D

Theresa-I have in the past used a blend of 2 parts rice flour, 1 part tapioca flour, 1 part potato starch. It works pretty well. It has a very neutral flour and bakes up nicely.

Nicole

Thank you, Sarah! xoxo Nicole

Nicole

Hi, Theresa, Looks like Sarah D did you one better than me! And Sarah is a Better Batter user, so she has a good benchmark to which she can compare her blend. I never make my own blend, so it’s so hard for me to know what to say to readers outside the U.S. I will ask Naomi Poe, the founder of Better Batter, if she can make a suggestion for non-U.S. readers. I wish she sold her blend your way! Here are the ingredients in Better Batter’s all purpose GF flour, if it helps: rice flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, potato flour, xanthan gum, pectin. Have you used a GF flour blend in the past? Every GF person should be able to make quickbread pita bread! Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. xoxo Nicole

Very successful Pita baking day yesterday. I made two batches, felt like I could have baked the first batch a bit longer, both both tasted yummy! Now onto the French Bread! Anneke

Nicole

You did it, Anneke! You’re ridin’ high in St. Paul! Step x steps rule! Hear hear! So happy for you. xoxo Nicole

http://www.stonemillsdesign.com Robyn

I can’t have eggs… I wonder if egg replacer would work in this recipe. Anyone know???

Nicole

Hi, Robyn, I wouldn’t promise that it would work. It might, but I’ve never tried it and the eggs lend a lot of structure to the pita. Maybe someone else has tried? If you are feeling daring, cut the recipe in half and try an egg replacer. Sorry I couldn’t be more help! xoxo Nicole

Heather

I will be making these this weekend to have with Grecian Chicken and tzatziki sauce…yum! Can’t wait!

Danika

I just commented on your yeast containing pitas about my fear of yeast! It’s like you read my mind! I am so very excited now. I will most definitely be making these. Woohoo!

Nicole

Hi, Danika, I am a mind-reader. It makes life so much easier! Glad you’re excited. Maybe start with these, and then work up to the yeasted version. Yeast takes a bit of practice, but once you’ve got it, you’ve got it. I promise. Have fun! xoxo Nicole

http://nocastravels.blogspot.com/ Nocas

Yes, I was surprised. My previous attempts to bake gluten free bread were disastrous. But I’m willing to try once more and bake my own bread instead of buying it. I find it too expensive! Gluten free on a budget: I’ll continue to follow your recipes and I’ll keep you posted! Thanks a lot!

Nicole

Hi, Nocas, I’m so glad, then, that you have finally had the success you deserve. Good for you for not giving up. If you ever have trouble, just drop a comment & I’ll talk you through it. Cheers to more and more success. xoxo Nicole

MaryCatherine

Hi Nicole!

I’m a new follower, and I *love* your recipes and your website! I have a quick question about the pitas. I’ve made them twice now, and though I love the taste and the texture, they just simply don’t puff at *all* – not a huge problem, but I’m sort of curious as to why. Any ideas?

I’m using the King Arthur all purpose blend, which doesn’t have xanthan gum, but I didn’t think that xanthan gum really had anything to do with puffing. If this is the case, I will order myself some better batter forthwith (can’t find it anywhere nearby).

Thank you! MC

Nicole

Hi, MaryCatherine, It’s your flour, I’m afraid. You do need the xanthan gum, but you can always add that to the King Arthur (the amount is listed in the recipe). Sadly, though, King Arthur flour is hit or miss. If you’re willing, I would say definitely order Better Batter. The cheapest price is online anyway, so don’t worry that they don’t carry it nearby where you live. So happy to have you here on the blog. I hope you keep coming back! xoxo Nicole

MaryCatherine

Hi Nicole,

Thanks for the response – I’m glad to hear that it’s my flour and not me! I’m excited to try with the better batter – the idea that I could have something *other* than a corn tortilla for lunch is thrilling!

Thank you! MC

Nicole

Hi, Mary Catherine, I’m relieved that you aren’t upset that it’s your flour. You’re right that it’s better that it be the flour than it be something you’re actually doing, which would be harder to diagnose. There is a recipe for GF flour tortillas in my book that is a mainstay in my family’s dinner rotation. If you have the book, I think you’d really enjoy that, too. xoxo Nicole

Melissa

My boyfriend and I have recently gone gluten free and I am so so glad I found your website! I have also realized my love for cooking and can not wait to try some of your recipes to add more variety and healthy foods to our lives. Big thanks to you and your creativity, time and thoughtfulness.

Nicole

Hi, Melissa, I’ve been waiting for you two! How wonderful to discover the joys of cooking alongside going gluten-free. The perfect pairing! You’re so welcome – and keep coming back! xoxo Nicole

Melikagirl

I just made this recipe and they are delicious!!! Thank you so much!!!!

G F_baker

Any thoughts on Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose GF Flour? I live near them, so really easy to get.

gfshoestring

I do not use or recommend Bob’s flour blend. It is a bean flour blend, and it does not behave or taste like high-quality all-purpose flours. It will not work in most, if not all, of my recipes, I’m afraid. Nicole

G F_baker

Any thoughts on Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose GF Flour? I live near them, so really easy to get.

Valerie

Talking about middle eastern food makes me feel like I should constantly be blessing people:

Hi, Valerie, You know, I never thought of it that way, but you couldn’t be more right. Oh, and … Gesundheit! Silliness should not be confined to any one particular day. At least not on my account. xoxo Nicole

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